Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon already butting heads as Renault F1 teammates – Wide World of Sports

Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon have been F1 teammates for just two races and already tongues are wagging over an on-track stoush.
The Renault drivers were part of the mid-field battle at the Styrian Grand Prix, also featuring the McLaren and Racing Point cars. Only problem was, Ricciardo and Ocon were largely battling each other.
Ricciardo started on medium tyres and was stuck behind Ocon for several laps as the Frenchman’s soft tyres began to degrade. He asked Renault about a team order for Ocon to move aside, before finally solving the problem himself with an overtake.
It was a talking point post-race, with Ocon having proven a feisty teammate in the past.
Esteban Ocon drives in front of Renault teammate Daniel Ricciardo during the Styrian Grand Prix. (Getty)
“I asked a bit of a general question as I was, I felt, being held up by that group,” Ricciardo told reporters.
“So I just said, ‘Look, guys, I’m quite a bit quicker at the moment.’ So I guess that’s really me asking the question, ‘OK, are we going to swap?’
“Obviously, we were on different strategies. I was on the medium and Esteban was on the soft, so I think typically early in the race, I don’t think it’s that wise to fight and lose time, especially on a split strategy.”
Ricciardo said that he believed Renault would soon have ordered Ocon aside.
“I asked the question and then I got past but I believe the call was coming,” he said.
“If it wasn’t that lap, it was going to come. So it was being discussed on pit wall. I think obviously they could see we were both losing time trying to fight each other. So it was certainly being addressed.”
Ricciardo, 31, denied that he was losing his cool with Ocon during the hold-up.
“It’s the first time we’ve gone, I guess, wheel-to-wheel,” the Australian said.
“Obviously I was obviously never gonna do anything too crazy, especially that early in the race, and I think because we were on different strategies.
“So if I didn’t get by in that lap, I honestly was expecting to get a call to swap cars. I think I would have been a little bit surprised if I hadn’t got that but it was leaning that way anyways.
“I was obviously, especially after

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